The folk paintings of Odisha are strong representatives of the state"s history and heritage in the art of painting. These paintings constitute the famed Pattachitra art done on different canvases, Palm Leaf Paintings also called Talapatachitras and Muruja art form, which is basically another manifestation of Rangoli.
Pattachitra, Folk Art of Odisha
Pattachitra art form of Odisha generally refers to traditional cloth-based scroll paintings. The subject of Pattachitra art works mostly pertain to stories of Hindu deities. Based on Hindu mythology, they are specially inspired by the Jagannath and the Vaishnava sects. The Chitrakaras of Odisha use natural colours and make these paintings in a fully traditional way. Pattachitra is one of the oldest and most popular art forms of Odisha.
Pattachitra folk art is practised by artists on cloth which they prepare themselves by coating it with a mixture of chalk and gum made from tamarind seeds, giving the surface a leather-like texture on which the artists paint with earth and stone colours. Painting is done using brushes with a mixture of clay and powder from a stone rich in iron oxide, or by incising and cutting a pattern on raw pottery using comb-like or knife-like tools.
The popular theme of Pattachitra comprises legends of Lord Jagannath and His incarnation Lord Krishna. Mythological and religious folklores of Radha-Krishna, different "Vesas" of Shri Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and ten incarnations of Vishnu are important subject contents.
Palm Leaf Paintings of Odisha
Palm Leaf Paintings are the other ancient treasured arts of Odisha, also known as Tala Pattachitra and drawn on palm leaves. The process of Palm Leaf Painting involves hardening of palm leaves, sewn together thereafter to form like a canvas. The images are traced by using black or white ink to fill grooves etched on rows of equal-sized panels on palm leaves sewn together. These panels can also be easily folded like a fan and packed in a compact pile for better preservation. Often palm-leaf illustrations are more elaborated, obtained by superimposing layers that are glued together for most of the surface, but in some areas can open like small windows to reveal a second image under the first layer. The themes constitute mythological incidents, Gods and Goddesses figures, animals, flowers and trees, Radha-Krishna, Durga, Ganesha and Saraswati, natural sceneries and local folklore.
Muruja Painting in Odisha
Muruja Painting is a folk art popular in Odisha. It represents the contemporary arts of India, being basically another format of Rangoli. Muruja is drawn on the floor with multihued powders. In order to get colour powders, indigenous methods are used, such as white stones to yield white powder and charred coconut shells for black powder. These are done in religious ceremonies.
